%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1315948622050301600%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.%%[[quoteright:332:[[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/odie01_9727.jpg]]]][[caption-width-right:332:... often overlaps with CatsAreMean.]]

->'''Mr. Burns''': Dogs are ''idiots''! Think about it, Smithers, if I came into your room, and started sniffing at your crotch and slobbering all over your face... what would you say?\\'''Smithers''': ... [[SingleTargetSexuality Uh... if YOU did it, sir?]]\\'''Mr. Burns''': [[SelectiveObliviousness Exactly!]] You'd be fit to be tied.-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''

CatsAreMean, right? Dogs, on the other hand, are obedient and loyal. Unfortunately in the modern age, "Loyalty" has been [[{{Flanderization}} diluted]] into "[[LawfulStupid stupidity]]," and these days, unless dogs are the main characters in a given story, they are usually portrayed as very simple-minded creatures who can't really function outside of instinct and impulse. It also helps that many breeds of dog have an incredible talent for ''[[ObfuscatingStupidity looking]]'' like empty-headed dopes. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it usually serves to make the dog in question out to be incredibly stupid, especially if some other animal is nearby acting much more sensible.

Amongst an ensemble of {{Talking Animal}}s, the dog is often the dumbest, and rarely smarter than [[FurryConfusion the mouse or the squirrel]].

Dogs doing what comes naturally when nature calls leads to UrineTrouble. ''Wild'' canines are often the opposite of dumb, including the NobleWolf, ThoseWilyCoyotes, and CunningLikeAFox.

----[[foldercontrol]]

!!Straight Examples:

[[folder:Advertising]]* "I smell... BACON!!!baconbaconbaconbacon! There! From that bag! What's it say? ''I can't read!'' (is given some Beggin' Strips) It's '''bacon!''' I love you. [=IlovebaconIloveyou=]!" -- ad for Beggin' Strips, bacon-flavored dog treats.--> It must be bacon, because only one thing smells like bacon, and that's '''bacon'''!* [[http://tinyurl.com/yvcg5m This]] Bud Light commercial, where the owner discovers that all his dog has to say is "SAUSAGES!" over and over again.* The "Stupid Dogbot - Clever Fiesta" Ford ad campaign.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]* ''Manga/InuYasha'': Played straight but often for comedy. ** Inuyasha is a HalfHumanHybrid whose {{youkai}} heritage is canine. He's very simple-minded as a result and his limited intelligence can get him into a lot of trouble. However, his instincts for fighting evil are very powerful and he's therefore capable of surprising acts of wisdom.** Sesshoumaru rarely transforms into his [[CanisMajor true form]]. When forced to against Magatsuhi, he becomes entangled in his enemy's tentacles. Jaken notices that all Sesshoumaru needs to do to escape is drop back to his smaller humanoid form and slide out. When Sesshoumaru instead pointlessly shakes his body like a wet dog, Jaken realises Sesshoumaru's true form gives him both his full power and a dog's intellect. An implied telepathic connection between them is revealed when Sesshoumaru first responds to Jaken's tactical analysis to transform and escape and then responds angrily to Jaken's disparaging thoughts regarding canine intellect. The battle is very serious, but the scene involving Jaken's internal assessment of Sesshoumaru's intellect while in dog form is PlayedForLaughs.---> '''Jaken''': (''Thinking'') "He is unable to escape... even with the power of his true demon form? Or is he helpless '''because''' he is in that form?! A giant dog... isn't the hardest prey to hang on to... why doesn't he just transform back and slip free? Or does this form also have... the brain of a dog?"[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]* Rantanplan from ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'' is literally TooDumbToLive (or at least dumber than his own shadow), having nearly drowned or otherwise killed himself numerous times.* Ms. Lion, ''the male dog'', is absolutely TheDitz and CloudCuckooLander of the Comicbook/PetAvengers. Founding Pet Avenger [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Lockjaw]], on the other hand, is smarter than the average dog, and superpowered to boot.** Lockjaw isn't actually a dog. He's an Inhuman whose exposure to the Terrigen Mists changed him into a dog-like shape. [[DependingOnTheWriter Usually.]]* In ''Comicbook/{{Rocky}}'', the title character (a dog) tries to get a friend's advice on trying to play some obscure HipHop music video on a Swedish music TV station, since he doesn't know any current pop music. The final panel has the friend laughing as he watches Rocky introduce a video by Vengaboys.** In the English language version of the comic, the reference is changed to NoDoubt.* On her fifth birthday Sabrina from ''ComicBook/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina'' gets a {{familiar}}, Salem the cat. She gets mad at the fact it's a cat, not a puppy, and her aunts mention amongst themselves that dogs aren't smart enough to be familiars.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]* The also-eponymous ''Disney/{{Bolt}}'' is something of an exception, being [[AndYouThoughtItWasAGame naive]] rather than stupid.* Dug from -- SQUIRREL! ...''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''.** The other dogs, however, (particularly Alpha), are not very dumb at all, and regard Dug with [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer scorn and shame]], so it's really just Dug who represents this trope.** They are all shown to have some sort of AttentionDeficitOohShiny though, at least regarding squirrels and tennis balls.* The rottweiler from ''WesternAnimation/OverTheHedge'', whose only spoken words (in a WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo-like voice) are "Play? Play!" This was specifically done to avoid them being portrayed as a vicious attack dog, which is a common fear among children, their target audience.* Disney's ''Disney/TheAristocats'' portrays dogs as being on a par with the mountain-men from ''Film/{{Deliverance}}''.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]* The 2006 version of ''Film/TheShaggyDog'' partially plays with this trope. Dave thinks like the human he is, but succumbs instantaneously to frisbees, scritches, and games of fetch.* The eponymous ''Film/{{Beethoven}}'' is not exactly a canine genius.** He's not exactly a moron either, there is significant evidence that many of his "accidents" are in fact planned out, and he is also extremely quick to pick off on people's emotions and is exceedingly patient.* Chance in ''Film/HomewardBoundTheIncredibleJourney''. Shadow [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this repeatedly. It's more likely that he was meant to be young and naive, as compared to every other dog in the movie and sequel who range from quite knowledgeable (Shadow), to street smart (Riley).[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* Somewhat understandable in ''Literature/WarriorCats'' since the main characters are cats, but still. All dogs portrayed in ''Warriors'' are either slobbering vicious brutes, or a harmless, but severe annoyance. Only the slobbering vicious brute variety was capable of any sort of speech, and their vocabulary was limited to "pack" and "kill".** The funny thing is, the head author actually likes dogs more than cats.*** Well, in the prologue, when the dogs got out into the forest, they were saying stuff to each other like "Here, hole, hole, here" and "Out, pack out, pack run!"* T.S. Eliot's ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' includes one passage comparing cats to dogs, ridiculing the latter as "clowns" that are "easily taken in" etc. (That stanza was cut from this number in the musical adaptation.) Also, there is the poem "Of the Awefull [sic] Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles", which basically describes two feuding clans of dogs who are so caught up in fighting that they disrupt life in the city until they are scared away by the Great Rumpus Cat.* In ''Literature/WatershipDown'', dogs are just another one of the ''many'' enemies the rabbit protagonists have to deal with, but they still show this trope. Rowsbery Woof, a minor figure in rabbit mythology, is a complete drooling moron, and the dog that shows up in the climax never has any lines and is treated as a giant monster.* Both subverted ''and'' played straight in ''Literature/ThePlagueDogs'', where the dogs ''do'' have lines and are treated as {{Stoic Woobie}}s... but they still seem less aware than, say, [[CunningLikeAFox the fox]], ranging between TooDumbToLive and BreakTheCutie. Justified, since the dogs are only slightly more intelligent than real dogs despite being able to speak, Rowf is basically [[ShellShockedVeteran shell-shocked]], and Snitter is a CloudCuckoolander after being subjected to [[AnimalTesting scientific experiments]].* Basically the entire point of ''Literature/MarleyAndMe'', in both film and book form. Marley was a tremendously loyal dog, and the overall plot is about how that affected the writer's life, but he was also a rather dim-witted, headstrong dog, which caused a great deal of trouble because of his physical size.* Played straight in ''Literature/AnimalFarm''. The female dog is loyal, but not terribly bright, which is why [[spoiler: she allows Napoleon to take her puppies and raise them to be his blood-thirsty, single-minded minions.]] In all fairness, she didn't know what he was going to do.* Many of Creator/DaveBarry's columns about dogs play up their stupidity. Roger in his novel ''Literature/BigTrouble'' is stated to have the intelligence of celery, though he at least knows enough not to mess with the Enemy Toad again after it gave him a face full of bufotenine. In fact, some people have accused Barry of being a dog-hater, apparently not noticing that he has evidently owned multiple dogs for years (Barry himself responding to such claims: "Perhaps from these peoples' perspective, dogs are intelligent, but I'm not going to go there.")* In ''The Unadulterated Cat'' by Creator/TerryPratchett, during the Campaign For Real Cats SuspiciouslySpecificDenial that they have anything against dogs, the phrase "smelly, fawning, dribbling, morons of uncertain temperament" is used. A [[FootnoteFever series of footnotes]] record attempts by the Committee to have this changed, to which the Chairman responds by making similar comments at greater length.* Another obligatory Pratchett example: Laddie in ''Discworld/{{Moving Pictures}}''. His internal voice consists mainly of "Good boy Laddie! Laddie good boy!". Gaspode is a pretty severe aversion, being a dyed-in-the-wool cynic.* Several dogs in the works of Creator/PGWodehouse, including [[Literature/JeevesAndWooster Aunt Agatha's]] dog [=McIntosh=], "an aberdeen terrier of weak intellect". They sometimes overlap with the MisterMuffykins type (also prevalent in Wodehouse's works), but are generally better-liked by Wodehouse's heroes, [[UpperClassTwit who tend to be dim]] ([[AFriendInNeed and loyal]]) themselves.* In the Creator/GordonRDickson novel ''The Magnificent Wilf'', the hero's Great Dane is given the ability to talk by aliens. Examples of things it says are as follows: "Love Tom. Love Lucy [his owners]. Love Love Love Love." "Play? Frisbee? Play?" "Ow! Flea! Bite flea! Bite Bite Bite Bite Bite. Crunch flea. Aaaahhh."* The children's chapter books by Lucy Nolan in the series ''Down Girl and Sit'' focus on two not-so-bright dogs who believe that "Down Girl" and "Sit" respectively are their names because these two phrases are what they usually hear from their owners.* In ''Literature/SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish'', there's Know-Nothing Bozo the Non-Wonder Dog, so stupid that it is incapable of eating the right dog food on camera, even when engine oil is poured on the wrong food.* In the ''Literature/MidnightLouie'' books, the [[DetectiveAnimal crime-solving cats]], Midnight Louie and Midnight Louise are firmly of this camp in most cases, but sometimes have to work with dogs, such as the Scottie and Westie terriers, Scotch & Soda, in ''Cat in a Yellow Spotlight''. After all, even a dummy can have certain skills that would be useful to their investigations, such as a dog's sense of smell or being able to inconspicuously be in certain places.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]* When the crew of the ''Series/RedDwarf'' go to a parallel universe, Cat is disappointed to find that, instead of a female opposite, he gets to meet a male humanoid who presumably evolved from Debbie Lister's dog. The dog doesn't exactly exude intelligence (though in fairness neither does Cat).** Part of the reason the Dog appears so dumb is because the Cat has actually become, while not actually human and/or intelligent, at least more so than he was in, say, series one. The Dog was introduced as a one-time joke and is therefore almost exactly as "doglike" as the cat was "catlike" in the first series.*** The ''Red Dwarf'' tabletop game gives both species nearly identical hits and bonuses to their stats. Both get a minus to dealing with other creatures socially, Cats because they're narcissistic and lack empathy, Dogs just because they're a bit uncouth and unrefined. (As the text puts it, Dogs are social beings, but in a "hanging-out-with-the-boys" sense, not a "let's-put-on-a-tux-and-go-to-the-Queen's-reception" sense.)* ''Mad About You'' has Murray, a Border Collie mix, which runs after mice until it runs into a wall, causing itself head trauma. And there are no mice in the flat.* ''TopGear'' Dog, Richard Hammond's real-life pet Labradoodle, during her brief stint on the show.* Darren from ''Series/TheFerals'' and ''Series/FeralTV'', whose Intelligence stat was on par with that of a mushroom.* ''Emergency Vets'' unintentionally makes you wonder if dogs are intelligent after seeing enough episodes where dogs have to be brought in and operated on for having eaten something completely inedible (socks, speaker wire, a coin collection...).** Although humans have been known to swallow some pretty stupid non-food items, too.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics]]* Odie from ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'', pictured above.** ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' had the cat usually extending it to all dogs. Which once led him to a beating, when saying "dogs have no brains"... to an audience featuring only dogs.*** In the cartoon, Garfield once wore a shirt reading "I hate dogs"... and was surprised to find out that dogs can read...** However, Odie might actually be a case of ObfuscatingStupidity. One cartoon showed him reading Literature/WarAndPeace while Garfield and Jon were gone, and another showed he's a wiz at Sudoku.* ''ComicStrip/GetFuzzy''. Neither Satchel nor Bucky is very bright; the difference is that Satchel has a more [[DumbIsGood innocent stupidity]], while Bucky's is a more [[CatsAreMean malevolent stupidity.]]* A one-panel ''Non Sequitur'', captioned "How Your Pets Think", shows a dog and a cat looking at a man sitting in a recliner. The dog's thought-bubble reads "Petmelovemepetmelovemepetmeloveme!" The cat's reads, "Don't just sit there, you slow-witted oaf. Feed me."* A strip of ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' featured a scientist who invented a device that could translate what dogs are saying so he could understand them. Several dogs onscreen were barking, which was translated to, "Hey!" "Hey, hey, hey!" "Hey, hey!"** That's not so much "Dogs are dumb," more like "ThisIsReality, and while the [[SlidingScaleOfAnimalCommunication communication system]] of dogs is very useful, they aren't [[AnimalTalk secretly using a language like ours,]] so that every bark has a meaning that is just waiting to be [[SpeaksFluentAnimal translated]] into a grammatical English sentence."* Kenny from ''ComicStrip/DogsOfCKennel'', although most of the other dogs are an aversion of the trope.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Radio]]

* A great example on an episode of Radio/APrairieHomeCompanion, during the "Guy Noir" segment. Guy sets out to find a talking dog who's been kidnapped. The character who kidnaps the dog says "At first it's amazing, then you realize, dogs just aren't that smart. He kept saying 'you're barking up the wrong tree!'"[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]* The ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'' sourcebook "Panopticon" lists [[UpliftedAnimal "Smart"]] dogs as having the intelligence of a two-year-old human (which real life dogs are compared to) and a vocabulary of twenty to thirty words (far lower than RL dogs). Smart cats on the other hand have the intelligence of a three-year-old and a vocabulary of thirty to forty-five words.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* The dog in ''VideoGame/DuckHunt''. Look at that dopey expression when you shoot a duck. And when you fail... it laughs, entertained at your failure, while you're no doubt [[TooDumbToLive feeling sociopathic, looking very frustrated and have a loaded shotgun in your hands.]] Unfortunately, you can't ShootTheDog.* ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'': Missile comes off as TheDitz, albeit a very cheerful Ditz. Perhaps less "stupid" and more "incredibly naive and optimistic" (but note the subversion below).* The dog enemy in ''VideoGame/BloodCrusher2'' is notably simple, consisting of just three behaviors; stand out of sight waiting for the player, run in a straight line at the player to attack, and ''chase any grenades the player throws''.* Dogs in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' are rather infamous for falling off of cliffs and into lava, and for attacking anything the player attacks, which could mean their death.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]* ''Webcomic/{{PVP}}'' - Scratch Fury, Destroyer of Worlds, uses a mind-enhancing machine on Kirby in order to create his own nemesis - but unfortunately, even after multiplying his intelligence by 1000, he's still dumber than a sack of hammers, and tends to forget that he can speak, whenever he takes a nap...* Pooch from the webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}''. If he's not stupid, he's definitely very young and/or naive. In contrast, his cat companion, Percival, is sublimely arrogant and sophisticated.** He is, however, just as dumb as Pooch and can be easily swayed with food or toys. He's a bit of a hypocrite and it's played for laughs.* Rare for a FurryComic, but ''Webcomic/BetterDays'' has this, WordOfGod claims that all have "a little touch of the Downs".* The ''WebComic/{{Gunshow}}'' strip [[http://gunshowcomic.com/276 Dog Problems]] features a dog locked in the bathroom of an airplane. He's more concerned with how he's supposed to drink out of the toilet, how he got on the plane in the first place, and where "the other dog" (his reflection in the bathroom mirror) came from than [[spoiler: the fact the airplane is about to crash]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* Ironically, certain breeds of sheepdogs (mostly Old English Sheepdogs) are often cast as the ''stupid'' dogs due to the shaggy hair covering their eyes. Herding breeds are actually among the most intelligent of dogs; the hair doesn't obstruct their vision at all.* Guess which half of the title ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'' is relevant to this trope. In fact, a good portion of the dogs on ''[=CatDog=]'' are portrayed this way.* Creator/HannaBarbera JustForFun/{{egregious}}ly abuses this trope:** Dynomutt is Blue Falcon's idiot robot-dog sidekick.** ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' had an episode where Dexter gives a dog capability of speech and it drives him insane because all it says is what it sees going on.--->"It's a thing! I-I-I found a thing! It's here, the thing, I found the thing, and here it is, it's the thing, right here, a thing!"*** And then turns around and subverts the trope. [[ParentalObliviousness Dexter's parents never notice]] the dog can speak English. Also, when the dog's true owner shows up, he speaks exactly like the dog does.--->'''Man''': Hey! It's my dog! I found my dog!\\'''Dog''': Hey, it's my man! I found my man!\\'''Both''': I found you, I found you, I found you! I found you!\\'''Man''': Let's go for a ride! You wanna go for a ride?\\'''Dog:''': Yeah, ride, let's go for a ride!\\'''Both''': Let's go for a ride!*** Dexter also tries to repair Dynomutt at Blue Falcon's request, but Dexter scraps him as being an "idiot sidekick" (which he is).** ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin 2 Stupid]] [[WesternAnimation/TwoStupidDogs Dogs]]''.** ''WesternAnimation/HuckleberryHound'', despite being smart enough to walk among humans, is still dumb.*** Dumb? Or just "[[ObfuscatingStupidity slow]]"?*** Sometimes lucky, sometimes smart enough to overcome his foes (like Powerful Pierre and Dinky Dalton).** Astro from ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'' can talk and is still pretty dumb, despite being able to talk.*** Though, to be fair, he does recognize bad thing or person when he sees one, and will warn and help the family. And, in one episode, was made into a super genius, but became insufferable as a result.** ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones''' Dino (only arguably a dog anyway) was smarter than Fred in many cases. But so was the cat. Hoppy was about as smart as Barney.** A Proto-Dino was shown during a camping episode to be extremely intelligent, with an elegant pseudo-British accent, until he was adopted by the women. Then he lost his ability to talk.** Hong-Kong Phooey is clearly more dense than his cat sidekick.* Runt from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. He's almost on TheDitz level of dumb, unable to understand that Rita is a ''cat'', though it's arguably subverted since 80% of the time, Runt saves Rita from her own arrogance and selfishness (showing she's not exactly a genius either outside of composing brilliant musical bits).** Rita's arrogance is typically attributed to her being a ''cat,'' which she mentions frequently as being superior to humans and all other animals. Runt, meanwhile, is shown as as being far stupider than the average dog, which have normal intelligence.-->Rita: For fifty dollars and a chance to the Fisteva: how many brain cells does a dog have?-->Runt: Oh boy! Oh boy! Nine! Definitely nine!* Freakadog from ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'' was not only dumb, but also vicious and rabid.* Dudley from ''WesternAnimation/TUFFPuppy'' has an assortment of dog stereotypes, plus he occasionally chews on his butt.* Mandy's dog Saliva from ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''. Despite being owned by the smartest character on the show, he is quite stupid.* Spunky from ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' drinks his own drool, eats trash, has crossed eyes, fell in love with a mop, and runs into walls.* We learn on ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' that dogs actually used to be smart but when they found out that cats are actually alien invaders who have enslaved humanity, our feline overlords lowered their intelligence with a stupidity ray so they wouldn't tell us.** This is simply one of Garfield's fantasies on how cats are superior beings; he also claims that dogs have a very small brain, and that their tongue is ''nine yards long'' on average.* The Diamond Dogs from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' aren't the sharpest crayons in the box. Averted with Applejack's sheepdog Winona, however.* Niblet, from the 2010 version of ''[[WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies2010 Pound Puppies]]'' (who is, incidentally, a sheepdog) is far outstripped in the intelligence department by his teammates... including the squirrels. However, see the Pound Puppies example under aversions for a counterargument.* The [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Bugs Bunny]] cartoon ''Foxy By Proxy'' features a fat fox hound who is so dumb he couldn't spell "cat" if he was spotted the "c" and the "a." Yet somehow the big lummox winds up triumphant at cartoon's end.* Harry from ''WesternAnimation/{{Stanley}}'' combines this trope with a SurferDude speech pattern.[[/folder]]

[[folder:New Media]]* There is an internet meme which shows how a cat and a dog view their respective existences. The dog will say things like "Walk! YAY! Food! YAY! Pet! YAY! Outside! YAY!" Meanwhile, the cat [[CatsAreMean carefully plots revenge on and escape from its human captors]].** [[http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Humor/otherhumor/dog_cat_diary.htm And here it is...]]-->'''Dog:''' Dog food! My favorite thing!-->'''Cat:''' My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.* The Simple Dog from ''Webcomic/HyperboleAndAHalf'', full stop. This dog is incapable of operating a staircase or getting out from under a blanket, and when put in sled-dog booties to prevent damage to the wooden floor, stared up with an expression captioned in the story's accompanying cartoon as "Where R My Legs?" Allie's other dog, Helper Dog, appears to be of normal canine intelligence, but on the other hand is a hair-triggered mass of neuroses and melodrama.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]* There is some TruthInTelevision to this trope. Dogs do not understand as much language as you would think. It is said that they are responding to one word of the sentence such as 'hungry' or 'walk' or 'stop'. When they respond to sentences like 'leave that little bunny alone' or 'where were you boy?' it is the tone they are responding to.* Experiments done on dogs and wolves show that dogs are less likely to try to come up with different solutions to a problem than their wild cousins (a dog will try a few ways of getting to an unreachable treat and then stare at its owner, while a wolf will keep on trying to get the treat long after). This is implied to be a result of humans breeding out those qualities out of dogs long ago, while those same qualities are a necessity for wolves to survive in the wild.** There is an alternate spin on this, The dog is attempting to use the human as a tool to get at the food [[/folder]]

!!Subversions and aversions:

[[folder:Advertising]]* In the commercials for Bush's Baked Beans, Duke the golden retriever is a clever huckster who's always trying to sell his master's secret family recipe for his own monetary gain.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]* Ein the "data dog" from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' is hinted to be very intelligent, but none of the crew ever notice.** Its also implied that [[spoiler: he's a better hacker than ''Ed'' in one episode.]]* Akamaru from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' was quite the efficient partner for his master, [[HotBlooded Kiba Inuzuka]], either as his HeadPet or his BigFriendlyDog. Justified, since the Inuzuka clan's business revolves around veterinary issues and dog training.* Menchi from ''Manga/ExcelSaga'' is quite clever, and fully aware of her position as "emergency rations".* For the most part, the dogs in ''Massugu ni Ikou'' aren't explicitly stupid. The closest examples of this trope are Hanako, who is more of a CloudCuckoolander than anything else, and Shokora, whose main problem is that he is LiteralMinded. Mametarou and Sora are subversions: they might have dumb moments, but give no indication that they lack intelligence. Averting this trope outright are Sebastian, Gen, and Jack - Sebastian being fairly down-to-Earth, Gen being an honorable and sensitive GentleGiant, and Jack being a very intelligent JerkAss (later a JerkWithAHeartOfGold).* In ''Manga/ChisSweetHome'', all the dogs play the trope straight and Chi's very much afraid of them. However, in the second season one of the Yamada's neighbors has a hyper puppy, and David subverts the trope by rescuing Chi in episode 76. It'd be a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming if the whole series wasn't SweetDreamsFuel already.* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Manga/FruitsBasket''. Shigure, the Dog from the EasternZodiac, [[ObfuscatingStupidity acts stupid]] and seems harmless at first glance, but he's really the only Member of the Zodiac with a plan.* The defining characteristic of Sapphie (a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) from ''Franchise/{{Jewelpet}}'' is being smart.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]* Snowy from ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}}'' rescued his master with clockwork regularity, either by biting ropes and baddies or by chasing down a human who can help him.* In the Italian comic book ''Lupo Alberto'', set in a WorldOfFunnyAnimals, dogs are on average as smart as the other animals. In particular the most preminent one, Moses (a bobtail sheepdog), runs the [=McKenzie=] farm not just by his considerable strength but by virtue of having more common sense and being far more money savvy than most other characters (the only one who has him beaten in the common sense department is Alberto, who is a wolf) and has shown himself much smarter than Gideon the cat (not that it's actually that difficult), and the one time he was forced to take a long vacation he hired a temporary replacement through an agency that sent ''another'' bobtail sheepdog who did an exceptional job.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]* Disney films ''Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'' and ''Disney/LadyAndTheTramp'' both feature dogs as highly intelligent and articulate, but do not show them as capable of talking with humans in ordinary language (although Tony can seemingly understand The Tramp).[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]* The dogs of ''Film/CatsAndDogs'' are able to run a hi-tech spy organization against the evil cats. Though some moments of stupidity still ensue (such as a WireDilemma when dogs are colorblind).** [[RealityIsUnrealistic Except dogs aren't actually colorblind]].* The dogs in the movie ''Film/{{Babe}}'' are the leaders of all the farm-animals, and most intelligent; meanwhile the cat is pure evil.* In the Soviet comedy ''Film/OperationYAndShuriksOtherAdventures'', Shurik and Lida try to get past an angry dog to get into her apartment. Shurik comes up with a plan to stuff some sleeping pills into a sausage and throw it to the dog. The dog takes the bait... but then eats only the sausage, leaving the pills on the pavement.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* ''Literature/OldYeller'' is realistically (non-anthropomorphically) smart, and is able to save members of his family from other animals several times.* ''Literature/WhereTheRedFernGrows'' has two main dogs, also portrayed in a completely non-anthropomorphic, realistic way. Old Dan doesn't really fit this trope as he's not exactly dumb, but Little Ann averts it outright by being distinctly the brains to Dan's brawn. Both are very well-trained.* Gaspode the Wonder Dog from the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series is an equal-level thinker with most humans he interacts with, and currently makes his life as the thinking-brain dog (like a seeing-eye dog, only with providing thoughts instead of vision) of Foul Ole Ron. He's also basically the OnlySaneMan in the Canting Crew.** Similarly, the Dog Guild in ''Discworld/MenAtArms'', although none of them were loyal (Gaspode ''is'' loyal, and seriously resents it). By contrast "Laddie", the Discworld version of Franchise/{{Lassie}} in ''Discworld/MovingPictures'', is completely moronic and a clueless, blond-furred [[TheDitz ditz]], but because he ''behaves'' like a Wonder Dog is expected to behave, everyone thinks he's clever.** ContinuityDrift had a part to play here however. Originally in ''Discworld/MovingPictures'' Gaspode has had his intelligence magically boosted to human levels and there is no real evidence Laddie was especially dim by normal canine standards. By ''Men At Arms'' all dogs are as reasonably intelligent, although not so much as Gaspode (who can speak as well as most humans and even write (badly mangled) Morporkian, as well as being deeper in his thinking, the result of a different magical reason than in Moving Pictures). Laddie becomes retroactively that much worse. It is mentioned that the type of intelligence displayed by dogs is something they got from humans, along with names, cruelty and a cringing inferiority complex. Wolves are displayed as pretty smart but with a one-track mind controlled by instincts and thoughts wholly unlike dogs as a result.** According to Angua (in ''Discworld/TheFifthElephant''), a bimorphic werewolf who spends too much time changed into a wolf becomes more wolflike in thinking, more prone to react either with flight or fight to unknown things, and unable to reason like a human. Her father, Baron Guy von Uberwald, has regressed so much that when he was in human form he spoke most in monosyllabic one-word sentences, in a loud voice like a bark, and has to be reminded to wear clothes.*** Anytime Angua and her relationship with Carrot comes up, someone (usually Angua) mentions that anything that is part wolf and part human is a dog, which sort of explains a few things about Big Fido and his ideas about wolves.* Novelist Creator/DeanKoontz tends to write canine characters as smarter than most dogs (even excluding ''Watchers'', which involves a genetically engineered dog of human intelligence).* Mouse from Literature/TheDresdenFiles is just as intelligent as a human, though he isn't a normal canine, but rather a "Foo Dog" (essentially a spirit-world canine from the mountains of Tibet).* [[IntelligentGerbil Headies]] in [[Creator/StrugatskyBrothers the Noonverse]] are a species of dog-like aliens that are psychic, extremely pragmatic as a species and much, ''much'' smarter than humans; after a few decades, [[spoiler:they just decide that they learned everything worth learning from humans and abruptly severe all diplomatic contacts with them]].* Subverted in ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle'' series by MargaretWeis and Tracy Hickman. Haplo's nameless dog is repeatedly shown to have the most common sense of any character in the series and often acts as his AntiHero owner's moral center. [[spoiler:Of course, it turns out that Dog is actually the physical manifestation of Haplo's soul, so this is justified.]]* Huan, the Hound of Valinor, from ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', was able to speak three times, went through a conflict of loyalties and ended up helping Beren and Lúthien in their quest. (He and Lúthien managed to defeat [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sau]][[BigBad ron]] by themselves.)* Lord Draffut, from Creator/FredSaberhagen's ''Empire of the East'' and the BooksOfSwords, was mutated by tens of thousands of years in proximity to the "Lake of Life." Now he's worshipped as a god of [[HealingHands healing]]. He tells an ally:-->"I was not in the Old World as you see me now. Then I could not think. I was much smaller, and ran behind human beings on four legs. But I could love them, and I did, and I must love them still."* Kojak from ''Literature/TheStand'' is revealed to be not only one of the hardiest dogs left in America, but the smartest... and ends up one of the heroes. He follows the other characters halfway across the continent, then [[spoiler:rescues Stu from certain death]]. He's almost a [[MartyStu Marty Pooch]].* Subverted in the ''Literature/{{Uplift}}'' series - it's hinted at that after Chimps and Dolphins, dogs are the next animals humanity plans to Uplift, implying that they are fairly intelligence.* Averted in Robin [=McKinley=]'s ''SpindlesEnd'', a rewriting of "Literature/SleepingBeauty". Dogs are shown to be loyal guardian types with a sense of dignity, although one dog is also known for her tongue-overfriendiness.* Kludge from ''Literature/VarjakPaw'' may not be very bright, but he's loyal to his friends and can speak cat...somewhat.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]* The dog in ''Series/MadAboutYou'' is actually fairly clever.* ''Series/{{Lassie}}'' is usually smart enough to [[TimmyInAWell communicate with humans through barking and body language]].* The Veterinary Sketch on ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'' featured Stephen Fry as a babblingly stupid dachshund fancier, getting on the nerves of Hugh Laurie's cat-owning character. The end of the sketch reveals that the dachsie is, quite sensibly, taking Stephen in to the vet's to be put down.* Despite his laziness Buck the Bundy's dog from ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' is smarter than his owners. Granted, this is not a significant challenge and does not prove that Buck is above canine-normal intelligence.** He knows what channel ''Jeopardy'' comes on. That's pretty good for a dog, really.* Eddie's intelligence is a matter of dispute between ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' and Martin (one of many, of course) - but the dog that played him must have been a ''genius''.* [[Series/SueThomasFBEye Sue Thomas']] dog is very smart.* An aversion in ''Series/MythBusters'', as they showed that, yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks. They also proved that almost ''none'' of the supposed tips for throwing a bloodhound off the scent actually worked, including the original literal RedHerring.* The dogs in ''Series/EerieIndiana'', who plot to take over the world. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]* Boot from the British newspaper strip ''ComicStrip/ThePerishers'' was certainly smarter than his boy owner Wellington. Unfortunately whenever Boot attempted to articulate his thoughts Wellington could only hear barking.* Dogbert, from the comic strip ''{{ComicStrip/Dilbert}}'', is generally presented as more intelligent than those around him (and as pretty much an evil genius).** False. Catbert is the evil one (it's even in his name for goodness sake). Dogbert is mischevious, at worst.*** Dogbert is a scam artist. He himself implies that his scams could easily kill a consumer and that he even wants to get rid of the witnesses. It may be satire but that is pretty amoral.* [[{{Peanuts}} Snoopy]] is fairly bright, albeit with a blind spot regarding the name of that round-headed kid.* The dogs in ''Citizen Dog'' were jerkasses of normal intelligence while the cats were cheerful ButtMonkey[=s=] who were easily entertained by string.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Videogames]]* Koromaru from ''{{Persona 3}}'' has a human-like intelligence. He may not be smarter than most of the humans in the party, but he could probably give [[IdiotHero Junpei]] a good run for his money.* Poochy in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland''. He's practically indestructible in that game, and as one bonus level so aptly puts it, Poochy ain't stupid. * Your Mabari war hound in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' averts this as it is explicitly stated to have human-level intelligence; he's perfectly capable of obeying complex orders and fully understanding human speech, and you may sometimes suspect he's the smartest member of [[DysfunctionJunction your party]].** He's also a master manipulator, able to thaw Morrigan into giving him treats, and if you choose him as one of the companions to try and break you out after being captioned, choosing to let Dog bluff succeeds in both cases where it's available.** At one point in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', you can walk into your house and find Varric playing cards with your dog.-->'''Snarky!Hawke:'''Is it brilliant or horrible that you play Diamondback with my dog? \\'''Varric:''' All I'm saying is, he'd be up more than two sovereigns if he watched his tells. ** He can even fetch the city guards to arrest a burglar that has broken into your house.** The Mabari hound is a national symbol of Ferelden. You'll see dog motifs in a lot of architecture, affectionate nicknames nobles give their children, and even in coats of arms for nobles. There's a Fereldan proverb: "Mabari are smart enough to know how to talk, and wise enough to know not to."* ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'': [[spoiler:The [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] in the end is Ray's true identity-a past-timeline Missile who manipulated Sissel into saving Lynne and Kamila while on his QuestForIdentity, having went ten years into the past and taking TheSlowPath back to the present. The Dog LITERALLY Was The Mastermind.]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* Inverted and downplayed in Cogito Ergo Sum's series of [[http://joker7777.info/index.html "escape the room" games]], where Nyan the cat frequently finds herself locked out of the apartment and needs Wan the dog's help in order to get back in. Nyan also eagerly jumps to participate in any suspicious special offer she receives, so long as there's a prize is at stake, while Wan just sighs and goes along with her. So she's not entirely stupid, just accident-prone and somewhat gullible.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* ''WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines'': Inverted. Muttley, the snickering hound, is smarter than Dick Dastardly and company. Admittedly this doesn't say much.* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' is smarter than his humans more often than not. He proved at times to be quite naive but compared to Eustace and Muriel and many citizenes, not setting the bar high here, he is a genius.** A straighter exception would be Shirley, one of the most knowledgeable and dryly intelligent characters in the show and one of the few who helps Courage.* ''WesternAnimation/WatchMyChops'' is all about the attempts of a talking clever-by-human-standards dog to keep his secret under wraps.* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'''s dog Fu Dog is smart as humans, but he's a magical creature.* Same deal with Monroe on ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee''.* ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' subverts and reverses it at the same time with CatsAreMean - the dog, Ren, is the JerkAss, AxCrazy and LargeHam, while Stimpy, the cat, is the CloudCuckoolander, StupidGood and [[GenreBlindness Genre Blind]].* Gromit, from ''Franchise/WallaceAndGromit''. No voice, but easily as intelligent as (if not more than) any other character in the shorts/films. Preston in "WesternAnimation/ACloseShave" is violent ''and'' fairly intelligent, he's also [[spoiler:a robot]].** Gromit's ability to be a master of the [[SilentSnarker silent snark]] is further evidence of his genius. You know, if being a dog who can build a rocket isn't enough.* Brian from ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' was generally the smartest character on the show, before {{Flanderization}} set in and he went from the OnlySaneMan to an KnowNothingKnowItAll StrawHypocrite. Even after, he's still at least of average human intelligence (he can drive, read, writes a best-seller by exploiting stupid readers, etc...), and possibly about as ''smart'' as he was in the first few seasons, just less moral.* Pork Chop in ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' is portrayed as extremely intelligent by dog standards, to the point where he has human-like mannerisms (though he can't speak intelligibly, he pantomimes frequently.) The series makes it clear that most dogs in the cartoon's world don't act like Pork Chop, however.* Santa's Little Helper from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' varies from episode to episode but (especially in later episodes) is often presented as being pretty clever.** Oddly though, his cleverness is usually applied in stealing food.*** Though as anyone with a dog will tell you, 99% of dog intelligence is focused on food and getting to places they're not supposed to sleep. * Dukey in ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'' is often the voice of reason for his human friend Johnny and constantly exasperated by his silly antics. He is also occasionally the voice of common sense among the Test family.* Goofy, of the WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts, is somewhere in between. He's generally portrayed as [[TheFool a simple country bum]] type. As ''WesternAnimation/AGoofyMovie'' and the ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' games show, he's generally the wisest of his friends. Or he's so dim-witted that he can have moments of [[DumbassHasAPoint incredibly]] [[TooDumbToFool clear]] [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight insight]]. It all [[DependingOnTheWriter depends on what's right for the story.]] ** Goofy ''the character'' is accident prone and a bit dim. Goofy the ''[[AnimatedActor actor]]'' is still a bit accident prone, but not nearly as dumb.* Droopy, the classic Creator/{{MGM}} cartoon character, is a DeadpanSnarker.* Mr. Peabody (''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'', ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'') is the smartest being ''ever,'' despite being a dog. He is so intelligent that he builds a time-machine that not only transports him anywhere in time and space, but also allows the traveller to understand the language and dialect of the natives. This allows him to fix errors in history using his super intelligence.** In the original series, Mr. Peabody basically treats Sherman as a pet, even introducing himself "I'm Mr. Peabody, and this is my boy, Sherman." In the movie, he's more of a [[GoodParents loving father]].* Snoopy is generally the most intelligent member of the ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' gang; Peppermint Patty even thinks he's human, and refers to him "that kid with the big nose." Snoopy dictates complaint-letters to politicians, plays baseball better than anyone else on the team, surfs, and generally shows up Charlie Brown at everything. He's also the most popular one.* Sam the Sheepdog in ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' continually outsmarts Ralph the Wolf.** Barnyard Dawg generally outsmarts Foghorn Leghorn in his appearances.* "Bandit" in ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'' is fairly intelligent for a dog, and often saves Jonny and the team from danger.* Brain the aptly named dog in Inspector Gadget, who can understand English, use machines, disguise himself, and generally ends up cracking the case (along with Penny) instead of the show's eponymous character.* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'': Being a trained attack dog for the Goddamn Batman, the Bat-Dog is extraordinarily smart.* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'': Frisket is fairly intelligent, even managing to understand the Web Riders bizarre beeping language without difficulty (when presented with a Web Rider who knew his name, he reacted to the statement and THEN sniffed, recognizing the speaker).* Applejack's dog Winona from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is rather intelligent and a great animal herder. Although she can get rather [[GenkiGirl frisky]].* Most, if not all of the dogs from any version of ''[[WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies1980s Pound]]'' ''[[WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies2010 Puppies]]''. Even the occasional ones portrayed as dumb can be seen as aversions, as TheMasquerade of dogs being speechless animals has held.* Kevin from ''WesternAnimation/MrBogus'' is actually quite intelligent, often occasionally helping Bogus out with any problem that arises in the Anybody residence.* All of the dogs on ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'' are intelligent, and Blue often seems to come across as smarter the human host, be it Steve, Joe or Kevin.* Spunky from ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' was this. There was even a promo-short for the series called "How to Tell if Your Dog is Brainless." [[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]* Relative to most animal life, this trope is completely averted by real dogs. Wolves, from which dogs descend, are "political" animals; they are social creatures mostly safe from predation which have a complex, fluid group hierarchies. These creatures have sufficient advantages over their environment that the greatest inhibition to reproduction is each other, meaning that in order to pass on your genetics, it's not enough to just be strong or fast: you have to be smarter than your fellows as well, which selects for intelligence and social savvy over generations. This is a category shared with whales and dolphins, grey parrots, gorillas, and ''humans'', all known for being remarkably smart.* Christina H of {{Website/Cracked}}, (who on a sitenote, is [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19007_6-reasons-kittens-suck-learned-while-raising-them_p2.html a cat owner herself]]) deconstructs this stereotype (at least as far as "dogs are dumb in comparison to cats" goes) in [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19108_5-reasons-war-between-dog-cat-people-needs-to-stop.html this]] article of hers.-->Yes, cats themselves are pretty dumb despite what cat propagandists would have you believe. Given two pieces of string, one that gives them food all the time and one that doesn't, cats will never learn to pull just the food string, whereas anyone knows a dog will have it figured out pretty fast (but may also eat the string). Sure, dogs are stereotyped as being lovable but dumb, with cats being their cold-blooded intelligent nemeses, but between that study and everyday observations of either animal staring into a blank corner and barking or meowing for no reason, it seems pretty clear that deep down they're all rock fucking stupid, God bless them.* In a recent experiment, some dogs were left in a room with a human volunteer and some food. The dogs were explicitly trained and instructed to not take the food, then after a while the lights were turned off. Many of the dogs tried to take the food when the lights went out, seemingly because the human volunteers could not see. Dogs, if only on a fundamental level, understand the concept of deception.** It should be noted that dogs have significantly better low-light vision than humans.* Stray dogs in Moscow [[http://abcnews.go.com/International/Technology/stray-dogs-master-complex-moscow-subway-system/story?id=10145833#.UU_mfRw3vJQ have learned how to use the subway system]].** It's more than that. Unlike wolf packs, Moscow's stray dogs, particularly the beggar dogs, have a hierarchy where dominance is determined by intelligence rather than physical strength. Not only do they know how to navigate the subway systems as demonstrated above, but also recognize and use crosswalk signals with fatalities being a rarity. They are adept at figuring out the psychologies of each person in order to determine which technique will work best, even sending out their cutest, smallest members of the pack to garner more success in begging from them. ** This would depend on the sort of intelligence in question, dogs may have lost the ability to navigate a maze to get a treat, but they can persuade a human to solve it for them. Dogs can use people as tools.* Dogs are capable of passing the "mirror test", which shows whether a creature has a mental image of itself. Dogs being smell-oriented, rather than sight-oriented, however means that you need to adapt the kind of mirror. Namely, a tree.[[/folder]]----